Project Dignity

A handful of times, years ago (we’re talking pre-COVID), I drove to Garden Grove to meet a couple of friends who worked for a small nonprofit called Project Dignity. We’d load their cars with donated food and personal care items and visit motels on certain stretches of busy Orange County roads. Those motels were where low-income families with nowhere else to go were living.

At each motel, we’d set up card tables. On the tables, we’d place boxes of food and soap and diapers. And then we’d knock on the motel doors and encourage families to come shop.

And the families always did. Little kids. Frail grandparents. Tired parents. They’d take the bags we gave them, and they’d shop.

I would get a lump in my throat in every motel parking lot. But I’d get the biggest lump in my throat when I saw the helpers — the motel residents who arrived at the parking lot the same time our cars did. They set up the tables for us, lifted the boxes for us, unpacked the food for us. This is what they could give, and they gave it their all.

***

I’ve been thinking about volunteering this week, especially with the ‘giving season’ a calendar page away.

And with Project Dignity in the back of my mind, here’s what I know: Not every volunteer shift will rearrange your heart. Most of mine haven’t. Plenty of my volunteer experiences have involved sorting canned food, building kits, folding blankets, making small talk. That work matters — a lot.

But every now and then, you need the other kind. The kind of volunteering that makes you uncomfortable. The kind that makes you feel differently, think differently, act differently. The kind that sends you home with a wrenched-open, bigger, softer heart.

I don’t know a better perspective-shifter.

Project Dignity closed its doors a while back. But it will always stay with me.

I hope you find something that stays with you, too.

With love and appreciation,

Sarah

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🌐 PREPARING YOUTH FOR THE FUTURE OF WORK

Earlier this month, the Citi Foundation launched its fourth Global Innovation Challenge, through which it’s committing $25M to 50 community organizations that are preparing young people for an economy increasingly shaped by AI. Through this RFP, the Citi Foundation seeks to identify innovative solutions that strengthen the skills of low-income youth, primarily between the ages of 15 and 24, and support them in securing employment opportunities.

The deadline to submit an LOI is Tuesday, October 6 at 12pm ET. More details, plus the submission form, can be found here.

🎦 TO LIVE WITH MEANING AND PURPOSE

I have been a fan of filmmaker and artist Tiffany Shlain since I saw her speak at a Women Moving Millions Summit about a decade ago.

Tiffany is an Emmy-nominated filmmaker, founder of the Webby Awards, and author of the national bestselling book 24/6: Giving Up Screens One Day a Week to Get More Time, Creativity, and Connection.

One of my favorite films that Tiffany created is called 30,000 Days. This film explores the 3,000 year history of humans wrestling with the question of how to live life with meaning and purpose. It’s 11 minutes long, and you can watch with kids and grandparents alike.

🗳️ GET OUT AND VOTE WHERE IT HAPPENS

I literally cannot get enough of this Hamilton music video produced in partnership with the nonpartisan initiative When We All Vote; it’s called 2026: Time for the Midterms. It is just SO GOOD, so catchy, and so brilliant.

View it, enjoy it, and then pass it along.

💘 NONPROFIT LOVE

In 2008, Dr. Chad Bernstein founded the nonprofit Guitars Over Guns (GOGO) after visiting a local youth detention center and making music — which led to incredible conversations — with the youth there.

What started as a research-backed music mentoring program in Miami, FL, has grown into a national movement serving young people in Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York, with HQ in Miami (and Las Vegas will be coming online soon!).

GOGO now partners with schools, community centers, artists, families, supporters, and advocates to create programs that meet students where they are. GOGO mentees are paired with trauma-informed professional artist-mentors who help foster their artistic, academic, social, and emotional growth. Since its beginning, GOGO has influenced the lives of more than 12,000 students.

This organization — and its music videos — is giving me all the feels. If you’re in one of the cities mentioned above, consider booking the GOGO band (!).

For more ways you can get involved in this inspiring, all-important nonprofit, click here.